CLEVELAND -- St. Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle was on his way home from a school open house Thursday night when he heard the news that Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer, his former Wildcat star, went down with a serious knee injury early on in the Bills game. He gripped the wheel tight and felt a knot form in his stomach.

"I thought, 'oh my, that's just not right,''' said Kyle. "He was such a great story. He was the spark for this team and this town and everything.''

But the sparks stopped flying Thursday night when Hoyer scrambled 11 yards for a first down, began started his slide and was crushed in the helmet by Bills rookie linebacker Kiko Alonso. Hoyer landed awkwardly, with his left leg pinned underneath him and right knee hyperextending beyond human capability.

The minute Brandon Weeden saw him crumpled on the ground before him and wincing in pain, he knew it was bad. The sight of Hoyer hobbling out of the stadium on crutches and in a full right knee brace was ominous.

Hoyer's worst fears -- and those of the Browns -- were confirmed Friday when an MRI revealed a torn right anterior cruciate ligament, one that will require reconstructive surgery and keep him out for the season.

"He's crushed right now, but he's a man of great faith,'' said Kyle. "No one will work harder than Brian to come back from this, and I hope the Browns keep the faith in him. You hear about them wanting to draft a quarterback, but why? Brian's a good dropback passer and he showed that he can do it.''

Browns coach Rob Chudzinski acknowledged that the injury is even tougher on Hoyer considering he wanted it so badly for the fans.

"It’s hard on him and I know he’s disappointed from just talking to him,'' Chudzinski said on a conference call Friday. "But he’s going to make it back, and he’s overcome a number of obstacles. I have no doubt that this will be another thing that he'll be able to overcome. You can already tell he’s already moving to thinking about how he’s going to get that done. He’s such a positive guy and he’s the kind of guy you just don’t doubt.”

Hoyer, who's signed through next season, will need at least nine to 12 months to recover from the surgery, which could put him back in time for a next season. Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III returned in eight months, but he's the exception to the 12-month rule, and hasn't really been himself this season.

Most players aren't fully back from their ACLs until their second year back.

"He’ll make it back,'' said Chudzinski. "He’s that type of guy. I reassured him that as well. I wanted to let him know how much he meant to us and what he did.''

In his brief stint, Hoyer managed to do what no other quarterback in Browns history has ever done: win his first three NFL starts. He strapped the team on his back while Brandon Weeden was nursing his sprained right thumb, and defeated the Vikings and Bengals with clutch fourth-quarter drives. He restored the faith of fans angry over the Trent Richardson trade and galvanized the team. He's also credited with Thursday night's victory over the Bills, even though he lasted less than four minutes into the game.

"Anytime you lose a teammate to injury like that it's never good and you feel empathy for that player,'' said safety T.J. Ward. "I know Brian is going to bounce back strong and get ready for next year. He's a hard worker and becoming a great leader for us. He'll get back and we'll continue to keep doing the things that we can and making this team better. I'm sure he's going to support us anyway we can.''

And now, largely because of Hoyer, the Browns are all alone atop the AFC North, at least until this weekend's games when the 2-2 Ravens and Bengals get back to work.

“He did a great job stepping in and really showing what he can do with his opportunity,'' said Chudzinski. "It was huge for us. This is disappointing. He was a big reason why we won those couple games, but not the only reason. So that’s how we look at it. Brandon (Weeden) stepped in and took over, and really the guys rallied around him. It was a gutsy performance, and it wasn’t always pretty. I think he was still a little bit rusty, but he got the job done and he was able to help us win that game, and obviously that was a big game for us.”

The Browns must now find a third quarterback to replace Hoyer, but one they won't pursue is fifth-year pro Josh Freeman, who was cut by Tampa Bay Friday after a tumultuous few weeks full of feuding and an accusation by Freeman that the Bucs leaked to the media that he was in the NFL's substance-abuse program.

Freeman released a statement explaining that he has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and that he inadvertently took Ritalin instead of Adderall, which caused him to fail a drug test.

"We’ll sit down with (CEO) Joe (Banner) and talk through what our plans will be from there,'' said Chudzinski.

Hoyer's surgery hasn't been scheduled yet, but the good news is that he suffered no other damage than ACL and the procedure will be standard.

But the injury complicates the Browns' quarterback plans for the future.There was a growing vibe in the organization that perhaps Hoyer could be their man, and that may have mitigated the need to draft a quarterback in the first round. Now, they'll have to seriously consider it.

“We’re five games into this season and I’m really just focused on this season and all those things we’ll address down the road,'' said Chudzinski.

For now, the Browns are expected to go back to Brandon Weeden, who came in off the bench Thursday night to pull out the come-from-behind victory. Weeden, who had lost his job to Hoyer when healthy for the Bills game, completed 13 of 24 attempts for 197 yards, with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Josh Gordon. He also completed a 47-yarder to Greg Little against a banged up secondary to set up that score and a clutch 18-harder to Gordon on third and long on a late field goal drive to help ice the victory.

"I sat down and talked with him earlier in the week when we announced Brian would be the starter and we talked about him being ready and reacting to this positively and he did,'' said Chudzinski. "He came in, I thought he managed the game. Coming in off the bench is always a difficult situation especially at that position. There was some up and downs. I think he was resilient and played through those and was able to make some big plays. There was a drive that he had in the second quarter and then obviously when the game was tied, the couple of big-time throws that he made culminating in Josh’s score was huge.”

Weeden, who was sacked five times, held the ball too long at times against a fierce pass-rush and teammates implored him to get rid of quicker. They also urged him to settle down after overthrowing his man twice on deep balls to start the game. Another time, he overthrew Jordan Cameron on a fade in the end zone.

"Overall I think we were excited to play and came out a little bit probably too hyped up early on,'' said Chudzinski. "Sometimes when that happens, guys try to do too much and then you're able to settle in better. (But) I think what you're getting at is the support that they have for each other and they have each other's back and it's great from the standpoint that you don't see an offense vs. a defense where you have divisions by position or by side of the ball. Everybody is just real positive.''

The defense, which loved Hoyer's production, is ready to rally around Weeden again.

"Brandon Weeden is going to be a great quarterback,'' said Ward. "He had an injury, Brian came in and played really well and just with the momentum we stayed with Brian. But Weeden was starting for a reason and he's going to continue to play well. We'll continue to support whoever is behind center. Weeden is going to get job done and we're going to continue to get job done. We are a complete team in every aspect. That's how we are going to approach it every week.''

The Browns have persevered through the Richardson trade, when the whole world thought the team was tanking it, and won Thursday in spite of their fallen quarterback.

"That's what good teams do,'' said Ward. "Things happen throughout the season. You lose good players, players go down, things don't always go your way. Good teams find a way to pull games out and come together and play as a team. That's what we are trying to do. We want to be one of those teams that other teams fear and have to worry about.''

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